The Bel Air Center for Addictions began as an offshoot of Tannenbaum & Tyler, a family medicine and pediatrics practice that provided care to the families of Harford County for years. While working as a primary care physician, Dr. Tannenbaum began attending classes and conferences on the brand-new field of addiction medicine; he had witnessed the opioid crises of the 1990s firsthand as it ravaged the field of primary care, and had seen how destructive it was both to patients’ health and to the trust between patient and physician. Dr. Tannenbaum became an addiction-certified physician in the first year the certification became available and began integrating his new knowledge to help serve the patients in his practice. He rented the office next door to Tannenbaum & Tyler and set it up as a small pilot project to provide MAT (medication-assisted treatment) for substance use.

After several years Dr. Tannenbaum decided to transition to providing MAT full time. Rising insurance and overhead costs led to the eventual closure of the family medicine practice, but Dr. Tannenbaum was able to continue growing the Bel Air Center for Addictions. Around this time, Dr. Tannenbaum’s daughter Lisa was graduating from college and decided to enter medicine as a career. As one of only a few thousand addiction-certified physicians in the country, Dr. Tannenbaum was able to provide her with training, education, and experience that had not yet made its way into major medical schools. Lisa was certified as a Physician Assistant and decided to work with her father to continue the family practice, carrying on the help and support for Harford County families that had become integral to the community over the years.

Lisa currently lives in New York City and has worked in various addiction medicine settings, but continues to come to Bel Air every week to maintain the Bel Air Center for Addictions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BACA transitioned to largely telehealth visits, but Lisa continues to come to Bel Air in person to maintain a connection with her roots, see patients who prefer to be seen in person, and go to Wawa — which doesn’t exist in New York.

Lisa has also collaborated with Dr. Tannenbaum on his book The Addiction Conspiracy. More recently, Lisa and Dr. Tannenbaum have started the Podcast “You Don’t Have to Struggle“, where they discuss their understanding of addiction as a disease, its treatment, and how it interacts with the other forces of our society and our world.

In a fast-paced whirlwind of social media, AI, global news, and constant changes, the Bel Air Center for Addictions is committed to its standing as a family business and its longstanding connections to the community of Harford County. We have sponsored local events such as Relay for Life for many years, and hope to continue providing stability and addiction services to our patients and partners for many years to come.